The Gaurdian
by Muse with Wings
Summary: Sequel to "The Golden," however you don't need to have read it to understand this one. Set two years after Ryhenna the wolf was first welcomed into Narnia.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Finally, the sequel to my story "The Golden" is complete! Hooray! Wait... Nobody cares but me? Oh... well... *tear*  
_

_ Originally I had planned to post this entire story as one long chapter, but it was just getting too long and I decided to try to split it up into 2 or maaybe 3 chapters. I still have a little more writing to do at the end. Let me know what you think. Are the chapters split in ok places? Does it make sense? And all that good stuff. I'll post the second chapter on Thursday, just to add a little suspense ;)_

_Remember to please R&R, even if you hate it!  
_

**The Guardian**

A copper-brown she-wolf gazed out at a warm sunrise, watching as one by one, the glittering stars faded into a new day. The sky was a palette of blues, pinks, and light yellows, colors of joy and serenity. The first few rays of light that escaped from the horizon brushed upon the wolf's honey-brown fur, giving the long, sleek hairs a golden sheen.

The she-wolf turned an ear back at the sound of heavy hoof steps, but kept her light brown eyes to the birth of the new sun. At the newcomer's approach, the she-wolf could feel the grassy knoll beneath her paws gently shake.

"Ryhenna." The voice, deep and booming, was like the crashing of ocean waves.

The she-wolf turned her head and smiled using the corners of her mouth. Unlike the others she lived with, Ryhenna did not use teeth to smile. For in the way of the wolf, the showing of fangs is considered a challenge or a threat. And though she no longer lived with her lupine kin, Ryhenna continued to heed this custom. "Astrum." She nodded, golden eyes light and friendly.

The resounding voice belonged to a large, blue-roan centaur with gray hooves the size of plates and hands big and strong enough to crush melons. His wild black hair grew mane-like from his head and down the length of his human back. A thick, black tail whisked across steel-grey flanks, and black socks ran up all four of his well-muscled legs. Dark eyebrows furrowed over intelligent eyes; giving the centaur a stern "no-nonsense" expression. "You are needed at the recovery tent. A new group has arrived."

Ryhenna nodded gravely, turning away from the centaur. "Thank you, dear friend." Without another glance, she turned and loped quickly down the hill. The sound of the self-created wind whirled about her ears, mixing with the soft pat of rough paws hitting the grassy surface.

Two years ago Ryhenna had lived as an outcast, unwanted from both the followers of Aslan and the White Witch. But through the help of Tumnus the faun and the four Majesties of Narnia, the she-wolf now lived her life an honored Narnian. Indeed, it had taken time for the she-wolf to be treated as a "true" Narnian by all. However, most fears were quelled when she became a revered herbalist and healer; proving her loyalty to Narnia and the Great Lion many times over.

And as fate would have it, Ryhenna was needed more than ever. The four human rulers, Kings Peter and Edmund and Queens Susan and Lucy, had waged war upon the barbarous giants to the east. Now the she-wolf had hardly any free time to herself between saving lives and healing wounds. Though Ryhenna found great joy in helping others, there seemed to be no end to the tide of the wounded. Because of this, she was eternally grateful for Queen Lucy's help. They had developed a "healing routine", where young Lucy used her potion on the dying and mortally wounded, while Ryhenna helped them to get back on their feet. This teamwork had created a friendship between the two; however Ryhenna was not quite as close to the young Queen as was Tumnus the faun.

The silhouettes of peaked tent tops came into view. There were multiple large tents where those wounded in battle stayed to heal and rest. But because there wasn't enough room for every injured Narnian, the most extreme of the wounded were brought inside the tents, while those no longer facing any danger were placed in the shade outside.

As Ryhenna slowed to a quick trot, she discovered that four or five of the wounded were resting outside the tent, while a young male faun busily treated a squawking gryphon. As the she-wolf neared, the gryphon's irritated screeches became more apparent.

"Ouch! That stings! Don't you have anything that- AUCH!" The faun jumped back when the gryphon snapped angrily. The irritated gryphon caught sight of Ryhenna and griped, "Oh good. The _true_ healer is finally here."

She smiled politely at the gryphon, but calmly turned to the embarrassed faun. "Cal, why don't you gather some plantain leaves from my stock. They'll help relieve the burning pain and get rid of any infection." The faun looked relieved and immediately sprinted to Ryhenna's smaller healer's tent.

Ryhenna sat down by the hissing gryphon and carefully studied his scaly front feet. The right one was covered in minor burns and the left one was covered in cuts, all superficial. She spoke in a conversational tone to the gryphon while waiting for Cal to return and for the gryphon's temper to cool. By talking to the gryphon, she learned his name was Arrow which Never Falls, or simply Arrow. Ironically, Arrow had been struck out of the sky by a burning tree used by one of the giants as a weapon.

"I was lucky to have survived the fall," he trilled proudly, "nearly burnt all the feathers off my wings, that brute did."

The copper she-wolf noted a few singed and displaced feathers here and there, but didn't correct the gryphon. Ryhenna was used to the wounded making up tall tales to impress their healers; it was a harmless and rather entertaining way to better know and understand her patients.

When Cal returned, Ryhenna instructed him on applying the herbs and bandages on the wounds. After he completed the job the she-wolf praised, "Wonderful Cal! You shall be a fine healer in no time at all."

The young faun grinned shyly. Cal was only twelve years old, thin with gangly limbs, dark curly hair, and shockingly bright blue eyes. He had become an apprentice of Ryhenna's after his mother died of an unknown disease and his father joined the war against the giants. The young faun was of great help to Ryhenna with his long, nimble fingers. For a while, the copper wolf envied Cal's ability to tie knots and carefully apply bandages. Being without hands and fingers greatly hindered Ryhenna's own healing abilities, but she realized that holding a grudge against Cal for something he had been born with was foolishness. After all, had she herself not lived in misery because of her own father's actions?

The pair moved on to more of the wounded with the copper she-wolf teaching young Cal while she healed. Cal was a fast learner, and his nimble human-like fingers were invaluable when Ryhenna needed something to be done with great care. But she noticed her apprentice quickly glancing over the faces of the warriors hurt in battle. The she-wolf knew he was looking to see if his father was among the injured. The small faun did this every time they walked into the healing tents. Ryhenna couldn't tell if he was hoping to see his father had not been hurt, or that his father had indeed been wounded and unable to return to battle.

After the two finished up with the rest of the injured, they silently walked to the healers' tent. Both wolf and faun were silent; the teacher and her student knew that the other did not need to engage in conversation to feel comfortable. They took a well-deserved break under the warm mid-day sun. Ryhenna lay on her belly with her chin resting on both front paws and Cal leaned against his teacher's flank.

Not too far away a band of fauns who looked to be around Cal's age was play-fighting with sticks. The she-wolf watched them run and jump amongst each other, her ears twitching at their yelling and the clacking of their sticks. After a few moments of observation, Ryhenna asked of her student, "Wouldn't you rather join them than sit here with your dull teacher?"

Cal stared at his cloven hooves and murmured, "You're not dull." He pretended to be extremely interested in weaving a blade of grass between his nimble fingers, avoiding Ryhenna's gaze. He remained silent until one particularly loud faun roared like a wounded banshee, followed by the groups' raucous laughter. His bright blue eyes flickered up and watched for a second before stating, "I don't see the point in making war a game."

"That's wise of you." The young faun seemed to blush and went back to fiddling with his blade of grass. Ryhenna studied him a second more before retreating into her memories.

Cal had always been somewhat of an old soul. The she-wolf assumed he got it from his late mother, because his father was the complete opposite: a faun who seemed larger than he really was due to his hot-head attitude and over willingness to use brawn instead of brains in most situations. She recalled first meeting Cal's father a month after the young faun began training as a healer…

_Ryhenna had been making her way back to the healers' tent when sounds of an argument rose from behind a nearby bush. The she-wolf would have continued on her way, for it was really none of her business, until the voice of her shy apprentice caught her sensitive ears. _

_ "This is what I want! I'm not like the others, I don't want to hurt people!"_

_ "Becoming a warrior is an honorable practice! I will not have you fooling around with weeds, being some naïve healer and bringing dishonor to our family name! I will not have the other warriors laugh behind my back because my only son has gone soft!"_

_ Ryhenna's ears lay flat against her skull; was this really how some Narnians viewed the healing practice? Deciding that she'd heard enough, the copper she-wolf stepped around the brush and made herself known to the quarreling fauns. "Because healers do naught but braid flowers into each other's fur, aye?"_

_ The adult male froze mid-speech, and Cal looked embarrassed for his father. Before either could speak, Ryhenna continued with what she wanted to say. "My kin also called me soft. They would punish me every chance they had and discovered a game in calling me shameful, an insult to our "proud" family lineage." She snorted. "I believe you know what kind of people were a part of that family tree?" Ryhenna knew the answer was "yes" when the older faun stiffened. Angrily, she continued, "The art of healing is noble. To call a healer naïve and foolish is a mistake. For while you are honorably out on the battlefield killing your enemies, your son will be one of those who do their best to clean up the mess."_

_ Cal's father glared at the she-wolf, his nostrils flaring. "Are you suggesting that the High King Peter is wrong for battling the Giants?" _

_Ryhenna forced the hair to remain flat upon her neck. "Of course not. The noble Kings and Queens of Narnia did all they could to negotiate with the Giants in the East. What I would like to know, faun, is if you are fighting for Narnia or for glory." The copper she-wolf then furiously turned away and stalked back to the healers' tent…_

The incident still made her blood boil. But apparently it had worked, because she never heard of Cal's father disagreeing with his choice ever since. Speaking of the young faun, she could hear him breathing slowly and deeply; he had fallen asleep. Letting loose a yawn herself, Ryhenna decided that Cal had the right idea and proceeded to fall into a deep slumber as well...

**_A/N: Let me know if you liked it! Thanks for reading, next chapter will be up Thursday!_**


	2. Chapter 2

_Ryhenna found herself deep within a cool evergreen forest. The moist smell of the soil and fallen pine needles wafted to the she-wolf's nose. The trees' vast branches created a shadowy, mystical pattern upon the forest floor. Ryhenna felt totally at peace, and had not realized that she had been walking until the sound of trickling water drifted into her sensitive ears. Suddenly, a small pool of shimmering water lay before the she-wolf, and when she looked into its depths she found no reflection staring up at her. Growing concerned, Ryhenna waded into the pool, searching for her reflection. She began to panic when still no reflection could be found._

"_Be calm."_

_The wolf looked up and found herself in the eyes of a huge Lion reclining on the opposite edge of the pool. Light seemed to emanate from His huge golden mane, and His terrible, beautiful eyes struck fear and an odd sense of peacefulness simultaneously into the she-wolf. _

"_Remember yourself..."_

"WOLF! WOLF!"

Ryhenna woke with a start and instinctively leapt to her paws, accidentally displacing a rudely awakened Cal.

"WOOOOOOLF!"

The copper she-wolf growled in the back of her throat. She had a name! Whoever was calling for her better have a good reason for being so rude!

"Look!" Cal pointed at a small brown blur heading toward the pair, and upon further inspection Ryhenna determined that it was a hare just as it collapsed at her paws.

Annoyed, Ryhenna turned to Cal. "Retrieve some powdered ginseng and water for our weary guest." The faun nodded once and took off at a brisk jog. The she-wolf turned back to the now quivering hare. "Now what seems to be the problem?"

With a gasp, the hare raised its head off the ground a few inches and searched the area with wide bug-eyes. "Wolf… in the camp ground…" The hare panted. "Black… heading for… tents… Not good!"

Ryhenna furrowed her brow, and then felt her hackles begin to rise. "Stay here!" She growled to the exhausted hare (who had absolutely no intention of moving) before jumping over his body and sprinting to the medical tents.

As the tents came into view, Ryhenna caught glimpses of a black wolf snapping at the heels of other healers and the recovering wounded. The two wolves locked eyes, and with a manic laugh the black wolf darted into one of the nearby tents. Ryhenna reached the tent just as the other wolf's scruffy tail was disappearing behind the opening flap. With a surge of protective rage, Ryhenna opened her jaws wide and snapped them like a steel trap upon the black wolf's unprotected tail.

There was a loud yelp and the other wolf was suddenly snapping at Ryhenna's face, causing her to frantically stumble backward in order to avoid the other's slashing teeth. Once the two wolves were out in the open, the black wolf stopped its attack and began panting heavily, allowing Ryhenna to put some distance between them. The black wolf started to cackle uncontrollably, unable to keep herself from drooling out the side of her bared jaws. "Don't you remember your dear sister?"

Ryhenna showed her teeth for the first time in years. "Lillagreth."

"So you _do_ recognize me!" the other she-wolf taunted. "You know, I was beginning to think you wouldn't even come looking for me, after eating the same food and drinking the same water as these cowardly Narnian _scum_!" The black wolf punctuated the last word with a vicious snarl.

A fire flared up inside Ryhenna, and the copper she-wolf lunged at her maniac sibling. But Lillagreth proved faster and pinned her inexperienced younger sister by the scruff of her neck, growling, "I've been watching you, baby sister. You think that by saving lives with your funny little potions and knowing which mushrooms are safe to eat will get you into the popular crowd! Well, I've got news for you; once that terrible Beast of theirs sees the ugly rat they've allowed into their ranks, they'll skin you alive!"

"No! NO!" Ryhenna twisted and snarled beneath the stronger wolf, and suddenly she was loose. She twisted around to take a chunk out of the darker she-wolf, but Lillagreth was running in the direction of the forest. Ignoring the Narnians that had run to her aid and were now telling her to stay put, Ryhenna chased after the black wolf with reckless abandon. Memories of the torture Lillagreth and the others put Ryhenna through surged to the front of the she-wolf's mind, replacing reason with a thirst for revenge.

Suddenly Ryhenna was surrounded by the forest from her dream, only now she received no such calm or peace. Her blood accelerated through her veins with each hot breath until finally Lillagreth came to a stop in the middle of a small clearing.

The black she-wolf was breathing just as hard as her sister. They were facing each other with tongues hanging and legs quivering from the long run. Lillagreth was the first to speak, "I knew you would follow. All that time spent living under the rule of those pathetic humans still couldn't suppress the wolf inside you. Father lives on in ways you couldn't imagine."

Snarling, Ryhenna lunged at the black wolf, only to be shoved aside by her more skilled sister. Her eyes squinted into slits as she spat, "Do not forget the White Witch was human as well! You and mother worshipped her like a god, yet she was as human as the two Kings and Queens of Narnia!"

"Don't you speak of the True Queen in such a way!" Lillagreth snapped. She began pacing a slow circle around the copper Ryhenna and spoke in a softer tone. "Mother is dead, you know. It's just me now, and two of our brothers. You remember Siccoro and Avarit? We are the last of your kin."

"I AM NOT YOUR KIN!" Ryhenna threw herself at the older she-wolf, copper jaws finally meeting flesh. Lillagreth snarled in pain as teeth cut open her unprotected shoulder. The black she-wolf snapped at her sister's face but slipped on pine needles and unintentionally exposed her vulnerable throat. Ryhenna prepared for the killing bite-

_Be calm._

She paused. The younger she-wolf felt a soft wind caress her face. _Remember yourself._

Something rammed into Ryhenna's side, sending her rolling across the forest floor and leaving her breathless. A paw rested upon her head, then pushed Ryhenna's muzzle into the upturned dirt.

"Are you alright, sister?" The voice, soft and snake-like, came from the wolf standing on Ryhenna's head.

"Siccoro, you idiot! One second slower and I would have been dead!" the black she-wolf rasped as she got to her feet. "Where is Avarit?"

A low bark rang out, "I am here, sister."

"Good. I see you've brought the rest of the pack with you." Ryhenna could hear and smell several newcomers. Some of them were whimpering. "She's proving… difficult to speak with."

"Let me speak to her." A shadow fell across Ryhenna and when she looked up, it was into the face of a large, muscular male wolf. His voice was a low baritone, and Ryhenna recognized him as her older brother, Avarit. "Let her up, brother."

The weight lifted from Ryhenna's head and she sat upright, strangely calm even though she appeared to be surrounded by eight other wolves.

"Sister, we are willing to look past your treachery against the White Witch by giving you a choice." The large male wolf spoke without emotion, and it was then that Ryhenna noticed how skinny the other wolves were. Their coats did not shine as hers did, and their eyes betrayed tired spirits weary from lack of food. They needed her. They were desperate for help, even if it meant kidnapping their outcast sister. Avarit continued, "You can choose to join us, to be with your family again," the hairs on the back of Ryhenna's neck rose at the word family, "or you can continue to be a struggle, and eventually we will kill you."

Ryhenna growled. "You are no family of mine. I'd rather die."

"Then so be it!" shrieked Lillagreth. The black she-wolf prepared to lunge, but a loud rumbling caught her attention. She turned around and fear spread across her features as a large dark blue centaur crashed through the trees.

"Astrum!" Ryhenna barked with relief.

Siccoro shot off into the trees with a whimper and his tail tucked between his legs, followed by three other wolves. Avarit looked after him with disgust and then turned to face the huge centaur with a vicious snarl on his face, and Lillagreth followed suit. The centaur reared high up into the air, his hooves thrashing wildly in the space above the two wolves' heads until Lillagreth lost confidence and ran swiftly through the trees after her younger brother.

Astrum thundered back to all fours. "Give it up, wolf. Even your own pack has turned on you!" Avarit glanced to the side to see that the two wolves who stayed behind had now rounded on him with hackles raised and teeth bared.

Snarling, the large male wolf backed away into the forest. "The True Queen of Narnia will greatly reward those who have never strayed from her glory, but for all who oppose her Highness, death will seem merciful." Avarit then turned and chased after his remaining relatives.

The blue-roan centaur glared after the wolf, his black tail swishing angrily. When he deemed the area to be safe once more, Astrum turned to his friend. "Are you injured?"

Now that he mentioned injuries, Ryhenna's body suddenly burned with pains, but none were serious. "I have naught but a few cuts and bruises. I'll live to see yet another morning." She smiled at the centaur, whose attention was now on the two remaining wolves. Ryhenna saw that one of them was really just a pup, and the other a young male.

"P-p-please…" the older wolf began fearfully, "please believe us when I say that we wanted nothing to do with the Witch. They took us prisoner and forced us to follow them… Honest!"

Ryhenna glanced at Astrum, who looked dubious. He raised an eyebrow, and she responded, "I believe them. Come, let us return to camp. We should warn the High King Peter of the possibility of a regrouping of the White Witch's followers."

_A/N: Thanks for reading! There's one more chapter, which I'll post Sunday! Please review and tell me what you thought! Don't be shy :)_


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